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What’s in that dessert?!

Hi Pies! 

Chocolate-Chip Cookie Pies, of course.  

You probably got more than enough chocolatey photos in yesterday’s post to satisfy even the most enormous cookie-dough craving.  But I found one more that I forgot to post: 

cookie 

Gooey, melty, chocolatey Deep-Dish Cookie Pie

Is there another word for gooey? I keep using it over and over to describe this pie! Maybe fudgey? That word definitely applies to the pie as well.  

I am Katie, queen of… beans? 😕 

This beans-in-dessert thing is getting out of hand! And I still have recipe ideas for bean-y muffins, cake, and brownie batter! I’ll hold off on those recipes for at least a few weeks, to give those of you who are not-so-enamored of beans a break. Tomorrow’s recipe post has nothing to do with beans. For today, though, here’s a look back at all my garbanzo-filled desserts: 

dip1 

Blondie Batter Dip 

blonde 

Chocolate-Chip Blondies 

blondiesnickerdoodle 

Snickerdoodle Blondies 

sn-dip-untilted1 

Snickerdoodle Dip 

And finally, yesterday’s gooey-licious pie: 

chocolate-chip-cookie-pie 

Deep-Dish Cookie Pie 

Question of the Day: 

Do you ever hide “strange” ingredients in your foods?

Spinach in smoothies, pumpkin in brownies, avocado pudding… 

I love surprise desserts. Remember my Spinach Ice Cream?

Published on June 1, 2011

Meet Katie

Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Fox, The Huffington Post, and ABC's 5 O'clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

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89 Comments

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  1. Cait @ Beyond Bananas says

    I don’t think I hide “strange” ingredients in my food.. but I will be as soon as I get some chick peas!

    However.. strange to some of my friends.. include sugar subs rather then sugar (applesauce.. bananas, etc) .. they even think it is strange for me to use flour other then white.. so from that sense, I suppose people who don’t have a view of eating liek I do.. think ALL my food is strange!

  2. Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table says

    I definitely do – from spinach and avocado in my smoothies to my favorite Mexican black bean brownies. They taste amazing! Last night I made pulled “pork” BBQ tacos with jackfruit and is was wayyyy better than any “normal” BBQ I’ve had.

    I find that making dishes healthier forces creativity that pays off big time in the deliciousness-factor. 🙂

  3. Bethany Davis says

    Yes! Most recently, applesauce in our pizza sauce! 2 cans tomato paste + 3/4 c. applesauce + assorted spices, a little cayenne, and a dash of hot sauce. Yummy!!! This week will try…mushroom gravy on mashed cauliflower/potatoes! ( :

  4. Albizia says

    I would eat any strange combination if that’s exactly what I want at a particular moment. Only I can crave custard caramel and a fish sausage at the same time so for me using beans for baking doesn’t look strange at all 🙂 .

    • Melissa says

      Fish. Sausage. O.o Xp
      I’ve never heard of such a thing and … sorry but ewwwww.

      Pre-gan, I liked fish baked/broiled but I never got the draw of fish tacos or things like that.

  5. Heather says

    I am waiting for an occasion to use your blondie recipe since I love black bean brownies they are so fudgey and moist. I am looking forward to the cinnamon roll recipe, they are a weakness of mine!

  6. Jenny says

    I love, love, love putting greens in my smoothies. Not only spinach, but mint too – to bump up the flavour for a mint-chocolate smoothie/milkshake. And your spinach ice cream is awesome, by the way, It’s one recipe that I make several times a week… Yes, I’m also guilty of avocado in puddings! 🙂 Chococado pudding~

    I like the surprise desserts you come up with! The surprise is always pleasant: hidden healthy benefits from something that tastes absolutely delicious. Keep up the awesome work – you know we all appreciate it!

  7. Kelsey @ CleanTeenKelsey says

    I have to say, Katie, I am LOVING all these new desserts. They are so different and unique. I absolutely love them! We are having company over this Sunday and I am TOTALLY making this cookie dough pie!!

  8. Angela says

    I can’t say I hide things in desserts anymore as most people know that my desserts are not always what they appear to be. Lol. They always ask how I modified something. I love the idea of this pie and using beans, but as mentioned yesterday by some people all of the brown sugar scares me. Did anyone make it with any other types of sweeteners with success?

  9. Lori says

    I always hide ingredients in foods. My kids expect it now. They just laugh and ask “so whats in this?” I always make them taste it first, they like and then I tell them! They are now shocked if I don’t put something “strange” in!

  10. Lisa Fine says

    I love the idea of adding beans to baked goods, since we can all use their nutrients and fiber.

    I love adding spinach or lettuce to my smoothies, since there’s usually an abundance of both in my garden come summertime.

  11. Lisa says

    i always use applesauce instead of oil, without a doubt. I like the fluffy consistency it gives the products! altho, butter is something I find hard to replace. nothing beats that buttery taste!

  12. Katelyn (new kid on the vegan block) says

    After commenting over on Averie’s blog about beans in desserts, I realized I never updated you on my version of the bean blondies subbing in brown rice syrup for sugar. They were good, but not very sweet, I don’t know if the brown rice syrup makes the difference or not. I actually ended up just keeping them and eating them as a breakfast item with some more almond butter on top. A nice change of pace for breakfast 🙂

  13. Alyssa says

    I love adding “strange” ingredients to food! I like Missy Chase Lapine, who calls herself “The Sneaky Chef.” She puts vegetable purees and beans and the like into a lot of her recipes.

    Any bean recipes you wanna post here are OK by me, lol!

  14. Jennifer JCD says

    Yes, yes, and yes… I’ve ‘hidden’ all those things before, and then some. Never intentionally hiding them to be devious, but because they add something extra to a recipe that you cannot get otehrwise. You know, a ‘secret ingredient’. Blended avocado in muffins or smoothies, frozen banana ice cream, kale smoothies, sweet potato brownies… yep… everyone thinks it’s weird until they try it and love the taste. 🙂

    Keep the ‘secret ingredient’ recipes flowing. Yeast-free cinnabun scrolls sound delish!!!

  15. Holly @ The Runny Egg says

    They may seem strange to some people, but to me avocados/spinach/beans/applesauce/pumpkin/etc are pretty normal!

    I had a comment on my blog last week about a chocolate cake made with sauerkraut??? Now THAT seems strange to me!

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      Wha??? I love cabbage, but that seems to be taking it too far! Then again, you never know until you try it, right? When I was little, I used to take Nutella sandwiches to school, and all my friends thought it was strange. But now, years later, Nutella is all the rage. So maybe in 20 years, we’ll all be eating sauerkraut cake? I certainly hope now, but who knows?!

  16. Nicky says

    OMG I’m sooo excited for some more recipes – beany muffins?! Ummm yes please! Can’t wait for the yeast free cinnamon rolls too!! I’m addicted to cinnamon 🙂
    I only really hide ‘strange’ ingredients like the beans in desserts, spinach in smoothies and pumpkin in brownies too. My friends think all my food is strange – but awesome haha! I’ve converted them all 😛

  17. Ashley says

    I’m super excited for the icecream recipe!! I haven’t quite got the hang of the icecream recipes yet, but I’ll keep trying. I dont care what’s in the recipes, as long as they taste good 🙂

  18. Alex@Spoonful of Sugar Free says

    I hide spinach in everything!!! Smoothies, pancakes, ice cream, muffins….I also like adding sweet potatoes to a bunch of stuff-load up on vit A!!!

  19. Averie (LoveVeggiesandYoga) says

    The things I “hide” in desserts would be avocados. Either in the avo banana ice cream I just made but there’s no hiding it since it’s lime green! However, in my raw vegan “chocolate mousse”, there are avos. And enough cocoa powder and agave to go into a sugar coma with 🙂

    That’s the only dessert in my arsenal that I truly take pleasure in NOT telling people what’s in it, waiting for them to ooh and ahh, and THEN breaking out the news. I am twisted like that…lol
    Just b/c no one EVER suspects and it’s just fun to see their reaction.

    You know I have the UTMOST respect for your bean-ey creations and you HAVE tempted me enough that when I am back home in my own kitchen, I WILL be making something. Now…I just have to choose. That’s the hard part!
    🙂
    xo

  20. Emma (Sweet Tooth Runner) says

    Yep I do all that! Spinach in smoothies, pumpkin in brownies, avocado pudding, beans in blondies and brownies, I’ve had it all! Haha but if someone had told me that I would this time last year I would’ve thought they were insane! 😛

    And I am SO making that pie either tomorrow or Friday!! Can’t WAIT!!

    P.S. I actually don’t know how you are LIVING without nut butter!! Get on that ASAP Katie!! 😀

  21. Elle says

    I do all that too! I love spinach is smoothies and applesauce, pumpkin, or banana in cookies, muffins, or brownies 🙂

  22. Eleanor@eatinglikeahorse says

    The cookie pie looks so, so good! What about “squidgy” for a word? ::-)
    I’ve made vegancupcakes with avocado and didn’t tell anyone till after they’d eaten them – they couldn’t believe it 🙂

  23. Dawn @ Blonde on a Mission says

    I love putting an unexpected healthy ingredient in desserts! I can’t wait for these cinnamon rolls!! I need a CCK cookbook 😉

  24. The Teenage Taste says

    Of course I hide “strange” ingredients in my food. What is to expect from a healthy living blogger turned foodie? 😉
    Some of my favorites are spinach in smoothies, tofu mousse, tofu in frosting, and dessert hummus! 😀

  25. Julia says

    I cannot wait to make that cookie pie. Looks amazing.
    I have a question! I’ve tried to make your cookie dough dip twice now, first with chickpeas and peanut butter, this time with white beans and cashew butter and no milk, but both times it has turned out runny – not firm like yours! Where did I go wrong?

  26. Jen says

    I think all true health-foodies hide strange ingredients in their foods. There’s something so fun about eating a food that looks like it has no vegetables in it, but actually has a full serving, or something that tastes like dessert, but is actually made out of beans! I’m all for the hidden (and healthful) ingredients! However, I think YOU definitely wear the crown for that talent.

  27. Kelsey @ Unmitigated Grub says

    I’m a big fan of secret ingredients, such as spinach in my choc. smoothies.

    LOVE this pie!!!!!!

  28. Ragnhild says

    There is no such thing as too many photoes of that pie! It is beautiful, and I can only image how delicious it tastes!
    I love your bean ideas lately, but Im always up for anything made by you! Cant wait for your new recipes 🙂

  29. Katherine says

    You must teach me how to photograph like you!

    O, and BTW I am leaving for Guatemala in 13 hours, so I won’t be commenting on your blog for a good 10 days. Sorry to leave you, but I will have a massive post when I get back 🙂

  30. Bethany says

    Now, for the spinach ice cream and milkshake, when you say frozen spinach, do you mean the stuff already in a bag you get at the grocery store? Or can I just freeze some spinach? Thanks!!!

  31. Ann Claire says

    I honestly don’t usually hide ingredients in my food. I usually eat my vegetables and other healthy stuff separate from my desserts. I”m scared to try healthy stuff in non-healthy dishes because I’m afraid you’ll be able to tell. Basically, I’m a scaredy cat………but I think the top pictures has be convinced to try your cookie pie!

  32. Mary @ Bites and Bliss says

    I’ve yet to try any *really* strange ingredients that wouldn’t seem obvious to use..like black beans in brownies or something, but I haqve done spinach smoothies and a lot of pumpkin baking.

  33. Tara says

    I’m so excited for the cinnamon rolls!!! If it’s not already a part of the recipe, I’m planning on drowning them in coconut butter or cinnamon raisin pb. Or both.

  34. Merrie@ Strawberrylaces says

    The second I’m back home with my food processor I know what I’m putting in it first- BEANS! Thanks for the inspirations!

  35. Sarah says

    I used to live in California… land of the BJ’s pizzookie (pizza cookie). This post made me super nostalgic… nostalgic enough to buy a plane ticket back to the golden coast for a pizzook… or nostalgic enough to make a CCK swap!

  36. Sof says

    Hey Katie!
    I came across your blog a while ago, however only today I dared to leave you a comment, as I have a serious need to say how amazing you and your blog are and how you helped me on my journey to a healthier lifestyle.
    I make some of your desserts almost every single day and since I started to replace bought processed treats I used to eat every day with your cookies, pies and cakes, I feel really way better and besides, I discovered a hidden amateurish baker inside of me.
    So, I just wanted to say thank you 🙂 You rock!

  37. Nathalie says

    I find it amusing that the idea of beans-in-desserts is so strange to westerners. Having become accustomed to Japanese cuisine, I am intimately familiar with beany sweets. An obvious example being anything with azuki beans. When I first read about you using chickpeas, like in the blondies, my first thought was actually to wonder whether the recipe could be emulated using azuki, or maybe white/black soybeans, instead.

    The vibrant red color of the azuki could lend itself well to a red velvet-inspired bean muffin/cake/brownie/confection. Whatcha think?

    • Nathalie says

      Sorry for replying to my own comment, but it just occurred to me that most if not all traditional Japanese sweets and desserts are, in fact, vegan-friendly. Thought that was worth putting out there for perhaps your vegan-curious readers to see ^_^

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      Oh my gosh, you are a genius! I need to find some azuki beans so I can try this!
      I heard another blogger, yesterday, leave a REALLY RUDE comment about how she thinks beans in desserts are stupid… close-minded much? Well, she doesn’t know what she’s missing!

      • Nathalie says

        Jeebus, that IS rude! And really, when people get all anti-beans-in-desserts, I usually remind them we do it VERY often in sweets in America using a different bean. That little bean called a PEANUT. Peanuts are beans, people. You can’t say beans in sweets is stupid and then go have a snickers bar. Sheesh.

  38. candice says

    Everything you make makes me drool! and its even better cause I love desserts.. and your healthy desserts take the cake!

  39. kaila @ healthy helper! says

    I love this bean bonanza thats going on! They add so much protein and make deserts so much more nutritionally packed! Plus you could make anything taste delicious so beany recipes are very much welcomed!

  40. Courtney says

    Katie, this looks devine!! MY favorite cookie is chocolate chip, but my boyfriend’s favorite is sugar. Is there any way this cookie pie can be made into a sugar cookie pie? His birthday is coming up, and I’d much rather make him this than let him eat another Pillsbury Funfetti box mix (which do taste good, but haunt me due to the shortening and enriched flour and other nightmare-ish ingredients). Plus, he hates beans, and I think it would be hilarious to fool him into eating them!

  41. Moni'sMeals says

    Hi Katie!
    You know what I love, is that we all have this in common… We are no longer the strange people putting in beans, bananas, spinach, avocados in to recipes that they “normally” do not go! To us, we are like “of course I add beans to my brownies and blondies! haha. We will be sneaky parents!

    All your recipes are looking great as always!

  42. Marissa says

    I NEED to try your blondie batter and snickerdoodle dips (as well as the cookie dough one!) Have you heard that Better Homes and Gardens is having a hummus recipe contest? You should seriously consider sending in those recipes–you could definately win something!

  43. Ashley O. @ The Vegetable Life says

    I love love love how you have found ways to use beans to taste so decadent!!! My father in law is a really picky eater and sometimes I will hide vegetables and/or applesauce or other vegan ingredients in the meals I make for them (and usually he loves them and then is mad when I tell him later what I did!!)

  44. LizAshlee says

    I really want to try black beans in fudge brownies! Have you ever made brownies with black beans?

    Upcoming recipes sound amazing! Can’t wait!

    Have a gorgeous day gorgeous!:)

  45. natasha says

    OMG thanks for sharing the recipe!!!!! I just made this for our family of 5 as I had all ingredients on hand. YUM!!!!!!!

  46. Brooke says

    Oh my goodness, all of these desserts look HEAVENLY!

    I almost always hide spinach in my smoothies.. I can’t even tell the difference 🙂

  47. Teniesha says

    I’ve been reading your beautiful blog for some time, but this is my first post because, well, I’ve decided to emerge from the shadows and become more involved in the foodie blog universe. Your desserts are ingenius. I first made black bean brownies, oh, maybe a year or so ago, and I was blown away. Healthy can be delicious, as you prove time and time again. Thank you for being such an inspiration–I’m going to add you to my own blogroll, if you don’t mind. 🙂

  48. Brittain says

    I just made your Deep Dish Cookie Pie for my dessert loving family and they gobbled it up! I am so completely impressed that such a decadent dessert can be created in such a strange & healthy way! We are a family in love with all things dessert and not one of my children tasted anything ‘strange’ or ‘bean-y’ in the pie. Once again Katie you’ve created another winner in our family! Thank you so much and keep all those ‘magic bean’ dessert comin!

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